Scottish Executive

Airports

Ms Wendy Alexander (Paisley North) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what contact it has had with the Department for Transport, Local Government and the Regions regarding the security arrangements for airside passes at Scottish airports.

Nicol Stephen: The Executive has regular discussions with the Department for Transport on a range of aviation matters affecting Scotland including security arrangements for airside passes at Scottish airports.

Asthma

Mrs Nanette Milne (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what consideration it has given to making asthma a national priority in health care in light of new research from Asthma UK stating that for 20% of people with asthma in Scotland, there are still no medicines that adequately control their condition.

Malcolm Chisholm: The importance we attach to tackling asthma is reflected in the range of measures currently underway in Scotland, including:

  The new GP contract includes asthma as a condition, which will attract extra remuneration for doctors, if they meet standards of care. All practices are required to provide essential services, including management of chronic disease in a manner determined by the practice in discussion with the patient.

  The new contracts for other health professionals enable the use of their expertise to address the review and management of people with asthma in the wider primary care teams. For example, the pharmacy strategy, The Right Medicine, is developing the role of community pharmacists through model schemes. This includes pharmacists taking part in the chronic disease management of asthma.

  Some personal medical pilots, which are another form of GP contract, have also been funded to develop improved chronic disease management in asthma.

  Practice accreditation procedures look into the management of chronic diseases including asthma. This involves following protocols and guidelines and the intention is that all practices should be accredited by the end of 2004.

  The Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network, which is funded by the Executive through NHS Quality Improvement Scotland, published good practice guidelines on asthma management jointly with the British Thoracic Society in February last year.

  Other initiatives by the Executive which will benefit people with asthma include our efforts to reduce smoking in public places and the yearly influenza vaccination for high-risk groups including asthma.

  In addition, the Chief Scientist Office is currently committed to funding nine research projects on asthma at a cost of £783,439.

  Community Health Partnerships (which were signalled in the White Paper, Partnership for Care) will have a particular focus on delivering improvements in the management of chronic conditions. They will have a critical role as the main focus for service integration for local communities with a particular emphasis on closing the health gap and delivering improvements particularly in relation to the management of chronic diseases for adults and children. One of their strengths will be their ability to provide a holistic approach to care.

Dairy Products

Ms Rosemary Byrne (South of Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to review the voluntary Retailer Code of Conduct with regard to dairy products.

Ross Finnie: The Scottish Executive has no functions in relation to the Supermarket Code of Practice.

  However, following a recent review of the operation of the code, the Office of Fair Trading has announced that further work, including a compliance audit of the supermarkets, will take place.

Debt

Mr Jamie Stone (Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how it intends to improve provision of impartial debt advice.

Mrs Mary Mulligan: I have made £4 million of new funding available for 2004-05 and 2005-06 to improve the provision of free, impartial debt advice in Scotland.

  This money is in addition to the £3 million funding per annum already committed for money advice, and will be used to develop money advice services for people who may not find main stream services accessible, such as young people and lone parents.

Dyslexia

Mr Kenneth Macintosh (Eastwood) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to support the further development of the Dyslexia Friendly Schools Award.

Peter Peacock: I recently visited Dyslexia Scotwest who developed the Dyslexia Friendly Schools Award. I was impressed by what I saw and learned and I am considering what I can do to encourage the approach being applied more widely.

Education

Dr Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether, how frequently and in what ways it engages with local authorities about education improvement in their area.

Peter Peacock: As well as the programme of inspections by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Education, we wrote to all authorities last year about their published progress reports and met with almost all of them. We will repeat this annually.

Enterprise

Christine May (Central Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what its position is in respect of the recent report by Scottish Chambers of Commerce on economic policy.

Lewis Macdonald: The results of the recent Scottish Chambers of Commerce Quarterly Economic Survey point towards further growth and optimism in the Scottish economy.

  We are currently reviewing our economic development framework and our enterprise strategy in order to keep our priorities in line with the ever-changing economic challenges.

Enterprise

Michael McMahon (Hamilton North and Bellshill) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress it has made on implementing A Partnership for a Better Scotland in the year since the Scottish Parliament elections.

Mr Andy Kerr: We have made good progress in implementing A Partnership for a Better Scotland  which sets out our vision for a confident Scotland of enterprise and opportunity for all.

European Union

Ms Rosemary Byrne (South of Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to assist family dairy farms in respect of the application of EU competition laws.

Ross Finnie: EU competition law is a reserved matter, being the responsibility of the Department of Trade and Industry.

  The Executive offers advice, including relevant contact points in other government departments, on a range of issues affecting dairy producers.

European Union

Ms Rosemary Byrne (South of Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to review the present implementation of EU competition laws with regard to dairy farming.

Ross Finnie: EU competition law is a reserved matter, being the responsibility of the Department of Trade and Industry.

  The Executive maintains regular contact with all relevant interests, including other Government Departments and farmers’ representatives, on a range of issues affecting the dairy industry.

Fisheries

Mr Ted Brocklebank (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to visit the Faroe Islands to assess how Faroese communities manage their local fishery resources.

Ross Finnie: I have no plans to visit the Faroes. My officials have regular contacts with the Faroes. They also participated in the preparation of the "Net Benefits" report by the No. 10 Strategy Unit, which visited the Faroe Islands and assessed how they managed their local fisheries.

Health

Margo MacDonald (Lothians) (Ind): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will act on the recommendation of Sir Liam Donaldson, Chief Medical Officer for England, that everyone should exercise for at least 30 minutes per day.

Mr Tom McCabe: Sir Liam Donaldson’s recommendations, including that adults should take part in at least 30 minutes of physical activity on five or more days per week, replicate those contained in Let’s Make Scotland More Active, Scotland’s Physical Activity Strategy, which is now in its second year of implementation.

Housing

Donald Gorrie (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what response it will make to the research by the Scottish Council for Single Homeless stating that local authorities estimate that 12,500 new, affordable, rented homes are needed every year, compared with the 4,900 completed in 2003-04.

Ms Margaret Curran: The Executive’s current review of affordable housing will take account of this contribution from the Scottish Council for Single Homeless.

Housing

Dr Sylvia Jackson (Stirling) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress is being made with the community ownership housing programme.

Ms Margaret Curran: Five councils, Western Isles, Argyll and Bute, Stirling, Inverclyde and Renfrewshire have declared their intention to transfer their housing stock, subject of course to the wishes of tenants. If these transfers proceed, around 40,000 more houses will move into community ownership. Stirling Council has already been formally accepted on to the Community Ownership Programme. We expect the other four councils to join the programme shortly.

  I firmly believe that transfer remains the best means for a number of councils to achieve the Scottish Housing Quality Standard and a number of other councils are currently considering their position in relation to transfer.

Ministerial Correspondence

Mr Kenneth Macintosh (Eastwood) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what its performance in answering ministerial correspondence was in the first quarter of 2004.

Patricia Ferguson: In the answer given to question S1W-24583 on 28 March 2002, I undertook to continue to report quarterly on the numbers of letters received by ministers and our performance in answering them. This is the fourth quarter in which I am reporting performance on letters only and not invitations.

  In the quarter January to March 2004, 3,368 letters were received for Ministerial reply of which 74% received a reply within 17 working days, and 91% received a reply within 25 working days. In the same period ministers received 710 invitations.

National Health Service

Colin Fox (Lothians) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether penalty charges introduced in the Health Act 1999 are being levied on those in receipt of incapacity benefit who are uncertain as to whether they are entitled to free NHS prescriptions.

Mr Tom McCabe: Patients on incapacity benefit who realise they have mistakenly claimed exemption from NHS prescription charges and who pay back the prescription charge to NHSScotland Counter Fraud Services (CFS) are not required to pay any penalty charges.

  Where a patient on incapacity benefit does not reply to the letter of enquiry from the CFS, a penalty charge may be imposed. If, however, the patient then contacts the CFS and explains that he or she is on incapacity benefit, the penalty charge will be waived. The CFS will also offer information on how to apply for help with NHS charges under the NHS Low Income Scheme.

Prison Escorts

Nicola Sturgeon (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many other service providers bid for the contract awarded to Reliance Secure Task Management Ltd, stating the names of such companies.

Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  The other service providers were Group 4 Falk and Securicor Justice Services.

Prison Escorts

Nicola Sturgeon (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive why the contract for escorting prisoners was awarded to Reliance Secure Task Management Ltd and on what grounds its bid was judged to be superior to other bids received.

Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of The Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  The contract was awarded to Reliance following a procurement exercise conducted under government guidelines. Reliance complied with the operational requirement and had a satisfactory track record for delivering a similar service. The price represented value for money and was affordable.

Prison Escorts

Nicola Sturgeon (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the financial value is of the contract awarded to Reliance Secure Task Management Ltd for escorting prisoners.

Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of The Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  The financial value over the lifetime of the contract is £126 million.

Prison Escorts

Nicola Sturgeon (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what quality monitoring provisions exist in the contract awarded to Reliance Secure Task Management Ltd; how performance is monitored, and what sanctions exist for breach of these provisions.

Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  The contract provides for a system of monitoring by the Scottish Prison Service and a performance payments system. The contract has been published by the Scottish Prison Service today in line with all the Freedom of Information principles including protecting public safety and third party commercial confidentiality.

Prison Escorts

Nicola Sturgeon (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will publish the contract awarded to Reliance Secure Task Management Ltd for escorting prisoners.

Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  The Scottish Prison Service has today published the prisoner escort and court custody contract in line with all the Freedom of Information principles including those relating to matters of public safety and third party commercial confidentiality.

Prison Escorts

Nicola Sturgeon (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the contract awarded to Reliance Secure Task Management Ltd for escorting prisoners has a break clause for material breach of contract and what constitutes material breach under the contract.

Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  There are conditions relating to its termination in the contract which the Scottish Prison Service has published today. The contract includes a clause which allows for an immediate termination in the case of a service failure which would constitute a fundamental breach.

Prison Escorts

Nicola Sturgeon (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether Reliance Secure Task Management Ltd is subject to the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002.

Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  Certain information relating to the services that Reliance is currently providing is available from the Scottish Prison Service under the provisions of the Code of Practice on Access to Scottish Executive Information. The provisions of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 do not come into operation until next year.

Prison Escorts

Nicola Sturgeon (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what obligations Reliance Secure Task Management Ltd is required to undertake under the terms of the contract awarded to it for the escorting of prisoners.

Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  Reliance is responsible for the secure custody and well being of prisoners during the delivery of prisoner escorting and court custody services.

Prison Escorts

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many members of staff are employed by Reliance Secure Task Management Ltd for undertaking its responsibilities as outlined in its contract with the Scottish Prison Service.

Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  In a contract which is output based, the question of how many members of staff are employed is an operational matter for the contractor. As a result, the requirement is that Reliance ensures that staffing levels are appropriate at all times for the full range of duties set out in the contract.

Prison Escorts

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the average number of police officers providing escort and in-court duties for Dumbarton Sheriff Court is and whether the level of cover to be provided by Reliance Secure Task Management Ltd in the court will differ from that which exists currently.

Cathy Jamieson: Police numbers are an operational matter for Strathclyde Police.

  The contract with Reliance Custodial Services is output based and, as such, the requirement is that the contractor ensures that staffing levels are appropriate at all times for the full range of duties covered by the contract.

  When Reliance assumes full responsibility for prison escort and court custody services, the police will continue to have a presence, as part of their public security role.

Prison Escorts

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the revised timetable is for the roll-out of the Reliance Secure Task Management Ltd contract in Dumbarton Sheriff Court.

Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  The Scottish Prison Service and the company have agreed that the roll out should be rephased and the next phase will not therefore commence on Monday 24 May. The Scottish Prison Service is currently discussing a revised implementation programme with the company.

Prison Escorts

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the ministerial statement on 21 April 2004 by the Minister for Justice on the prisoner escort and court custody services contract, whether the contract between the Scottish Prison Service and Reliance Secure Task Management Ltd was approved by the minister before it became final and binding and what the reasons are for the position on the matter; whether the contract contains any provision which entitles Reliance to withhold any part of the contract for commercial reasons and, if so, what such a provision is; whether there are any provisions in the contract that cannot be disclosed for reasons of law enforcement or prisoner security, and whether it is customary to include such provisions in a commercial contract of this nature.

Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  Ministers did not approve the contract. It was approved by the Scottish Prison Service which is responsible for operational and commercial matters involving the agency. The contract has been published today in line with all the Freedom of Information principles including those in relation to protecting public safety and third party commercial confidentiality.

Prison Escorts

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the ministerial statement on 21 April by the Minister for Justice on the prisoner escort and court custody services contract, whether Reliance Secure Task Management Ltd will assume responsibility for the transfer of prisoners with a psychiatric mental health condition to, and from, prisons and hospitals and, if so, what training Reliance staff will receive before taking up their duties, how long such training will last, and what provision there is in the contract for this.

Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to respond. His response is as follows:

  The contract with Reliance includes escorting those detained under the Mental Health (Scotland) Act 1984. Risk assessments are undertaken in advance for every prisoner movement and appropriate arrangements put in place. Reliance has primary responsibility for the secure custody of these patients whilst medical/nursing personnel retain responsibility for their medical care.

  Prisoner Custody Officers (PCOs) undergo a six week training programme. The structure and topics of the training are detailed in the contract and the content of the training programme is validated by the SPS. The training modules are based upon the relevant National training organisation standards. All PCOs are required to pass this training in order to be certified as PCOs.

Prison Escorts

Michael Matheson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many operational hours Strathclyde Police has spent in trying to apprehend James McCormick, the prisoner mistakenly released by Reliance Custodial Services.

Cathy Jamieson: The deployment of police officers is an operational matter for the Chief Constable.

Prison Escorts

Michael Matheson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) has had to sanction overtime payments for staff at any prison due to delay in prisoners being transferred by Reliance Custodial Services and, if so, what the additional cost to the SPS budget has been.

Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to respond. His response is as follows:

  No – the SPS does not pay overtime to prison officers.

Prison Escorts

Colin Fox (Lothians) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive what information it had on the level of fines for performance failures in prison escort duties by private security firms in England and Wales in 2002 prior to the Scottish Prison Service entering into its contract with Reliance Security Task Management Ltd.

Colin Fox (Lothians) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive what information it had on the level of fines for performance failures in prison escort duties by Reliance Security Task Management Ltd in England and Wales in 2002 prior to the Scottish Prison Service entering into its contract with that company.

Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  The Scottish Prison Service discussed the track record of bidders, including Reliance with other contracting authorities and visited bidding operations from which the Scottish Prison Service concluded that Reliance had a satisfactory track record.

Prison Escorts

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-3488 by Cathy Jamieson on 13 November 2003, how many police have been redeployed as a result of the contracting out of prisoner escort and court custody services.

Cathy Jamieson: My earlier answer to S2W-3488 referred to the expected position following full implementation. Implementation of the contract was always planned over a number of phases.

  All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

Prison Escorts

Miss Annabel Goldie (West of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many prisoners or suspects have escaped from Scottish Prison Service custody while being transported to and from court in each of the last five years.

Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  One prisoner escaped in 2000-01 and one in 2001-02.

Prison Escorts

Miss Annabel Goldie (West of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many prisoners or suspects have escaped from police custody while being transported to and from court in each of the last five years, broken down by police force area.

Cathy Jamieson: The information requested is not held centrally.

Prison Escorts

Miss Annabel Goldie (West of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what meetings the Minister for Justice had with Reliance Secure Task Management Ltd, the Scottish Courts Service, chief constables and the Scottish Prison Service to discuss the contract for escorting prisoners, prior to it coming into effect, detailed when the meetings took place and what items were discussed.

Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  The Minister for Justice did not meet Reliance to discuss the prisoner escort and court custody contract, with or without other criminal justice agencies, prior to the contract coming into effect, as this is an operational and contractual matter which is the responsibility of the agency.

Prison Escorts

Miss Annabel Goldie (West of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether staff from HM Prison Kilmarnock have been involved in the transportation of prisoners to and from court.

Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  There will be people who now work for Reliance who were formerly employed by the Scottish Prison Service, Premier Prisons and the police but no staff have been transferred from Kilmarnock prison to assist with the Reliance contract.

Prison Escorts

Miss Annabel Goldie (West of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many police hours it was envisaged that the contract with Reliance Secure Management Ltd would free up.

Cathy Jamieson: It is estimated that the whole time equivalent of up to 300 police officers would eventually be released for other operational duties following the full implementation of the contract.

Rail Service

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it plans to take in light of the National Audit Office (NAO) report, Improving public transport in England through light rail.

Nicol Stephen: The Scottish Executive is already working closely with tie , the promoters of the Edinburgh tram scheme, in line with the recommendations made in the NAO report. We encourage all those developing light rail schemes to apply the good practice contained in the report.

Rail Services

Phil Gallie (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2O-2239 by Nicol Stephen on 6 May 2004, how many passengers used Strathclyde Passenger Transport-supported rail services in each year since 1995.

Nicol Stephen: Information for the years 1995-96 to 2002-03 is given on page 5 of the recently published SPT Statistics and Trends 2003 , a copy of which is available in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib number. 32703). Passenger numbers in the year to March 2004 were 41.1million.

Roads

Dr Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-26439 by Lewis Macdonald on 2 July 2002, what the current position is regarding the properties at Longbedholm Cottage, Longbedholm Farmhouse, Middlegill, Milagro, Nether Howcleugh and Raecleugh Farm which were acquired during the construction of the M74 from Douglas to Gretna and for which plans were being prepared to effect disposal, either through offer-back to previous owners or by open market sale, in July 2002.

Nicol Stephen: The properties known as Longbedholm Cottage, Longbedholm Farmhouse and Middlegill have been offered back to the previous owners in accordance with the Crichel Down Rules. A positive response was received in respect of Longbedholm Cottage and this has been referred to the District Valuer to determine a suitable price. A reply is still awaited regarding Longbedholm Farmhouse. Arrangements are being made to have Middlegill advertised on the open market later this month following confirmation that the previous owners are not interested in re-purchasing. Work continues in identifying the land boundaries and location of services necessary for the preparation of plans required to effect the disposal for Nether Howecleugh, Raecleugh and Milagro. It is anticipated that this work will be completed during the summer.

Roads

Mr John Home Robertson (East Lothian) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many hours were spent on the collection of litter from the verges of trunk roads in 2003-04; what quantity of litter was collected; what the cost of this work was to public funds, and whether it has any plans for enforcement action to deter the practice of throwing litter from road vehicles.

Nicol Stephen: Under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 the trunk road operating companies are required to clear litter from motorways and special roads. For the south east, south west and north east units 33,472 man hours were spent in 2003-04 collecting 32,998 refuse bags of litter. There are no motorways or special roads in the north west unit. It would not be appropriate to provide details of costs paid to the operating companies for this work because of commercial and contractual considerations.

  The collection of litter on all other trunk roads is a matter for local councils. The information requested is not held centrally for these routes.

  Much of the litter that requires to be removed from the trunk road network, particularly in the urban environment, is wind borne from surrounding areas and does not necessarily originate from road vehicles. Local authorities have the power under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 to issue Fixed Penalty Notices of £50 for littering. This power is to be extended to the police through the Antisocial Behaviour etc (Scotland) Bill.

Schools

Dr Sylvia Jackson (Stirling) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive by how much it expects school rolls in secondary schools to fall by 2010.

Peter Peacock: School rolls in publicly funded secondary schools are projected to decline by 10% between 2003 and 2010.

Scottish Transport Group Pension Schemes

John Farquhar Munro (Ross, Skye and Inverness West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive when the Scottish Public Pensions Agency will make final payments of monies remaining in the Scottish Transport Group pension funds to former members.

Tavish Scott: The Executive is keen to ensure that all of the £126 million made available for ex-gratia payments when the pension schemes were wound up will be paid out. To date, £121.72 million has been paid out to 12,026 former members of the Scottish Transport Group pension schemes. Around 640 ex members of pension scheme have yet to make an application for funds that may be due to them. The Executive is currently considering how to best to distribute the final £4.28 million that remains of the original £126 million made available.

Social Inclusion Partnerships

Margaret Mitchell (Central Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what guidelines it gives to social inclusion partnerships (SIPs) in respect of their definition and evaluation of best value.

Ms Margaret Curran: Communities Scotland provides guidance to SIPs in terms of accountability for public funds, monitoring for effective use of that funding and on issues of governance. In addition, all SIPs have input from local authorities as partners or "accountable bodies" and as such benefit from the duty of best value placed on local authorities.

Social Work

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it plans to take to ensure the adequate provision of social workers for the city of Edinburgh.

Euan Robson: The shortage of social care staff is being addressed on a national basis. We have taken a number of initiatives including a national recruitment campaign, unprecedented investment in social work education, a fast-track scheme for graduates and an incentive scheme to attract qualified staff to hard to fill posts.

  There are more qualified social workers in Scotland now than at any time in the past and this year we have seen an increase in applications for undergraduate programmes of 26%. However, demand for social workers remains high, especially in the cities. We are committed to providing sustained help and recently, for example, I confirmed that the fast track recruitment of social workers will be sustained for five years.

  The Minister for Education and Young People has announced a fundamental review of social work across Scotland and he will provide more detail about that before the summer recess. The key aim of the review is to enhance the contribution of social work services.